Bars, pubs and other purveyors of intoxicating elixirs saw more job growth in the past year than any other business sector -- even as most other businesses in San Francisco and San Mateo counties lost jobs.

New California Employment Development Department annual data reveals that the number of jobs in alcohol "drinking places" grew from 3,000 to 3,400 in the two counties from January 2008 to January 2009. That's a bigger job growth than any of the other 94 business sectors tracked.

Man, I wish that was true.

Well, I guess it is technically true, just not for anyone in the business that we're in. The businesses that are doing well are the ones with basically no staff. If you run a small bar, where your entire staff consists of one bartender and one doorman, you're doing great. If you run a dance club or a concert venue, it pretty much sucks to be you.

Basically, late-afternoon happy hours are doing great, and everything else is tanking across the board.

Oh, also we just got a citation for there being gum on the sidewalk. Gum. On the sidewalk. So hey, please don't spit your gum on the sidewalk, you savages.

Probably for not cleaning up the bums' expelled fluids, first. I expect fines over their sleeping accommodations will follow the presumption that DNA is charging rent for the space but failing to pay sufficient business income tax on it.